


World Class Masseuse

by candiedgrapes



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Gender or Sex Swap, Getting Together, Massage, What if Sylvix but Lesbians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-22 17:09:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21305600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/candiedgrapes/pseuds/candiedgrapes
Summary: Sylvia offers her friend a massage after a particularly rough sparring session. It's all downhill from there.
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier
Comments: 7
Kudos: 104





	World Class Masseuse

Sylvia is a woman of habit. There's a real comfort in knowing exactly how her weekend is going to go. She'll sleep in late, have a cup of tea with the hot new professor, and then spend the rest of her day in the marketplace flirting with the traveling salesmen. If she's lucky, she may even bring one home for the night, and they'll be off in the morning never to be seen again. If she's unlucky, she might run into on of their girlfriends and have to rely on Ingrid or Dimitri to save her. Sometimes though, she can be convinced to change it up— and that's how she finds herself in the training room.  
  
Felicity stands across from her, tightly gripping the wooden shaft of her training sword. They've already been at this for a while, both desperately panting for air. A bead of sweat drips down Felicity's brow as she bounds forward with a lunging move. Sylvia side-steps away to avoid it, and it ends up morphing into more of an awkward somersault. Sylvia twists her body around just in time to counter a Felicity's attack from behind, and then swoops in for one final blow. She lands a hit directly down on Felicity's left shoulder, and Felicity sighs, dropping to the ground in frustration.  
  
"Tch, lucky shot," she snarls.  
  
Sylvia laughs, "Hey, what can I say? I'm a natural."  
  
"A natural airhead, maybe."  
  
Sylvia grins widely, offering her outstretched hand. Felicity takes it willingly, wincing as she pulls herself up off the ground. She cringes as she rolls her shoulders back.  
  
"Was I too rough?"  
  
Felicity shakes her head, "Don't worry about it. If this were a real battle, I'd be a goner. That's why you can't just take it easy on me during training."  
  
_That's just like her_, Sylvia thinks, but she nods in understanding. Felicity motions for her to hand over the training lance, and she readily complies. If Sylvia was a woman of habit, Felicity was a slave to it. She always has to make sure that she's in charge of the weapons. Usually, on the odd days that they spar together, after all of their equipment has been put away, Felicity will spend the rest of her night in the armoury. She takes special care in making sure all the school's weapons are properly sharpened and polished before heading to bed. It's a routine she sticks to diligently.  
  
That's why Sylvia knows something's wrong when after hanging both the sword and the lance on their respective racks, Felicity immediately turns to leave. She must have hurt her worse than she let on.  
  
"Wait! Don't go yet," she urges, "You're injured right?"  
  
Felicity scoffs.  
  
"I'm not so weak as to be felled by a training lance," she says, "At the worst, you may have given me a light bruise."  
  
Sylvia rolls her eyes, saying "Well, it looks like it hurts anyway."  
  
She receives a glare in return, but Felicity doesn't deny it.  
  
"How about I give you a massage. That could help!" she suggests.  
  
Felicity's face turns sour, looking at her like she just suggested something unthinkable.  
  
"How about no."  
  
Sylvia doesn't let up.  
  
"Come on, I swear I'm good at it! I do it for men all the time."  
  
"Believe it or not, I'd rather not hear about your sexual exploits, Sylvia."  
  
"Look, all I'm saying is that it might help, besides—" she starts, dropping her eyes down to the ground and looking thoroughly guilty, "I really do feel bad about hurting you."  
  
Felicity takes one look at her big dumb puppy dog eyes, and sighs.  
  
"Fine."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"I said fine, didn't I?"  
  
Sylvia's eyes brighten, mood lightening immediately, and she smiles.  
  
"That's great! Okay, I just have to go get some supplies from my room, I'll stop by yours a little later."  
  
"Okay," she agrees, and then they're both off to their respective rooms.  
  
\----  
  
Half an hour later, Sylvia finally finds what she's looking for. She grabs the small bottle of massage oil off the bookshelf where she found it and bounds for Felicity's room.  
  
"I got it!" she sing-songs as she bursts through the door.  
  
Felicity makes a non-committal sound of acknowledgment from her place on the bed. Her dark hair is down from her bun, and she's in her nightclothes already. Sylvia closes the door behind her and walks towards the bed, making direct eye contact with Felicity the whole time.  
  
"So how do you want me?" asks Felicity bluntly.  
  
"Hmmm," Sylvia tosses the small bottle of oil back and forth between her hands as she thinks, "I think it would be easiest if you laid down on your stomach."  
  
She reaches over to tug on her friend's camisole.  
  
"You're going to need to take this off first, though."  
  
Felicity nods in understanding, and Sylvia barely has time to look away before she's grabbing at the bottom of her top and twisting it up over her head. She watches out the corner of her eye as the garment is thrown aimlessly towards the floor. When she looks back over, Felicity is already lying down flat on her belly, with her head resting between crossed arms.  
  
Sylvia hops up on the bed with purpose, straddling Felicity's back and flipping open the bottle of oil. She pours the liquid into her one hand and closes the bottle with the other, before tossing it gently beside her on the bed.  
  
"Alright," she says, rubbing her hands together to heat up the oil, "Should I be focusing on anything other than your shoulder?"  
  
Felicity mumbles back something that sounds like no into her arms, and Sylvia gets straight to work.  
  
The first thing she notices is that Felicity was definitely wrong in her assessment earlier. Her shoulder is turning a deep dark purple, and while it's still better than what Sylvia was expecting, it's undeniably worse than a light bruise. When Sylvia starts running her hands over her back to cover it in oil, she takes special care in making sure her touches are feather-light around the area. She moves her hands across her back in a circular motion, rubbing the oil in deeply to prep for the actual massage.  
  
When she's satisfied with the oil coverage, she places her hands flat against her back. She moves her hands slowly and firmly in the same direction down the sides of her spine, and back up again. She continues with this motion for a bit, slowly falling into the groove of it. She pushes and pulls at the muscles until she can feel Felicity start to relax a bit. She knows when it's working because little by little, all of the stiffness in her body starts to dissipate, and she sighs contently into her arms.  
  
_ She's so uptight sometimes_, she thinks, _it's good that we're doing this, people need to be pampered every now and again_. She starts using her knuckles to push deeper into her back. _If she refuses to ask anybody else for help, then I'm just going to take it upon myself to make sure she's taken care of_.  
  
Sylvia begins to shift her focus to the neck and shoulders. She pinches lightly at the junction connecting the two, before smoothing out her hands across the area. She gently guides one of Felicity's arms out from under her head and rotates the shoulder joint a few times, before laying her arm down flat beside her body. She rubs up from her shoulder blade to the edge of her arm in a figure-eight motion, alternating between this and gently pulling and prodding at the skin beneath her fingertips. She's careful to avoid the bruised area in her ministrations, but she hears a small hissing noise come from Felicity when she accidentally gets to close.  
  
"Sorry," she says.  
  
"S'ok," Felicity grumbles back lowly, "It feels fine."  
  
Sylvia isn't sure whether to believe her or not.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes, I'm sure, now shut up."  
  
Sylvia smiles as she notices a faint blush dusted over Felicity's face. She tries to hide by shoving her head further into her arm, but Sylvia grabs it away so that she can start working on it. Felicity responds with a weak grunt, as Sylvia begins moving her hands in the same patterns as when she worked on the first one. After a few more minutes of that, she gives up on the methodical approach, and just does whatever comes to her mind. The first of which, is just a simple and lazy kneading motion across her lower back.  
  
_This is kind of calming_, she thinks, and she lets herself get lost in her thoughts as she works. Every so often, she'll remember to re-oil her hands, and then get lost in the motions again.   
  
She does make sure to switch it up every few minutes, changing the pressure of her hands, or using her thumbs to dig into the sore muscles instead of her palms. She's rubbing her knuckles in circles up around her upper back when Felicity lets out a soft noise that she immediately tries to stifle. Felicity freezes for a second. That was a good reaction, I should do that again. She continues moving her hands around the same area. Felicity is clearly pleased with her efforts, letting out small gasps every few seconds.  
  
She isn't sure what it is, but something about the situation has Sylvia blushing. It's not often that her friend is so openly blissed out. She was starting to think that the only thing that could get Felicity excited these days was a worthy opponent— yet here she is, melting under Sylvia's touch. A warm feeling washes over her. _Shit_, she thinks, _this is starting to turn me on_. It doesn't help that the only other times she's given a massage, it had been as a precursor to sex. _Think about something else, think about something else_, she repeats in her head like a mantra._ I have a flying exam coming up, and I still need to ask Ingrid for some help. Speaking of help,_ she thinks just as Felicity arches her back up in pleasure, _this isn't_.  
  
She shifts her weight so that she's no longer sitting directly on Felicity's back, and uses the newfound leverage to dig her hands even deeper in. It's a mistake. It's a mistake because Felicity outright moans at the contact, in such a deep and guttural way that Sylvia can feel it vibrating through the tips of her fingers. She stops what she's doing. _Holy shit_, she thinks, and anything else she was thinking about just flew straight out the window.  
  
The body underneath her starts to move, as Felicity pushes herself up by her elbows, twisting around to look at Sylvia.  
  
"Are you getting bored of this?" she asks, "You're the one who wanted to do it."  
  
Sylvia pushes her straight back down into the bed.  
  
"No, no, of course not," she assures, "I was just thinking."  
  
Felicity laughs.  
  
"That's not something you do often— Hey!" she yelps when Sylvia pinches her back.  
  
She returns to massaging, albeit less thoroughly than before. A beat of silence goes by.  
  
"What were you thinking about?" Felicity asks.  
  
Sylvia pales. She tries to think of something to say.  
  
"I was thinking... that you're really tense," she settles on, "If you did this more often it would be better for your body."  
  
Felicity nods against her bed, mumbling something indistinct into her blankets.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I said we can do this again."  
  
Sylvia raises her eyebrows in shock.  
  
"Really? You want to do this again?"  
  
"Only because you think it's so important," she mumbles.  
  
Sylvia grins, glad that Felicity seems to have enjoyed herself.  
  
"Of course, yeah, let's do this again! You don't want to end up straining yourself on the battlefield next time."  
  
"Exactly," Felicity agrees, and then they fall back into silence.  
  
\----  
  
  
Sylvia finds herself still thinking about it the week after, leaning against her desk in homeroom, and sighing.  
  
"I'm starting to think I focus on sex too much," she announces loudly.  
  
Ingrid blinks beside her.  
  
"I'm sorry, you think?" she says incredulously, "Sylvia, being a letch is like your only personality trait."  
  
"Hey!" she gasps mock offended, playfully shoving her friend in the shoulder, "That's cold Ingrid."  
  
"You know it's true, though."  
  
"Ingrid is right," comes a familiar voice from behind them. Dimitri stands over their desks, Dedue at his side. Ingrid smirks in response.  
  
"See?" she gloats, before her voice takes on a more serious note. "So what's with the change of heart?" she asks.  
  
Sylvia scratches her chin for a second, looking deep in thought.  
  
"I'm starting to get turned on at weird times," she says.  
  
Dimitri and Ingrid both pale at the confession. Dimitri bringing his hands up to rest his face in.  
  
"I'm sorry I asked," he says.  
  
Ingrid looks thoughtfully at her.  
  
"You know, I could give you some tasks to do if all you need is a mood killer," she says, "The Pegasus stable still needs cleaning, plus I remember Seteth saying he wanted help wi—"  
  
"Right, I'll take that as my cue to leave," Sylvia groans, pushing away from her desk and scurrying towards the door, "Talk to you all later!"  
  
She turns around to wave goodbye, not looking where she's going, and crashes into something hard right outside the door. They both tumble towards the ground.  
  
"Goddess," whines the voice below her, "Watch where you're going, Sylvia."  
  
Sylvia blinks down at the girl.  
  
"Fefe? What are you doing here?"  
  
Felicity rolls her eyes beneath her.  
  
"You know, I do go to school here," she starts, "Now stand up and get off of me."  
  
Sylvia scrambles to get off of her, replying, "Oh, right, sorry," as she hops up off the ground and dusts off her knees. Felicity follows suit.  
  
"Seriously though," she continues, "Aren't you usually training about right now?"  
  
Felicity shakes her head, crossing her arms in front of her.  
  
"I'm going to train right after I'm done speaking with you."  
  
"Oh, yeah?" Sylvia says, tilting her head in confusion, "What did you want to talk about?"  
  
Felicity looks away.  
  
"My back is still sore from our last match," she says simply.  
  
"Oh," a wave of guilt washes over Sylvia, "I'm sorry, I—"  
  
Felicity's face turns sour.  
  
"I didn't come here for an apology," she snaps, "I just—"  
  
A soft pink colour dusts Felicity's face, and Sylvia's eyes widen at the sight.  
  
"I just wanted to know if you were going to help me again or not," she concludes.  
  
A look of realization comes to Sylvia's face and Felicity's immediately turns redder.  
  
"Of course," she says, "I told you I would didn't I?"  
  
Felicity lets out a deep breath she'd been holding, finally meeting her eyes.  
  
"Okay, good."  
  
Sylvia smirks at her dishonest friend.  
  
"Did you want me to come up after dinner?" she asks.  
  
Felicity just nods her head.  
  
"Alright then, I'll see you after dinner."  
  
Felicity makes her retreat back to the training grounds, and Sylvia waves to her as she leaves. Afterwards, she decides to make her way down to the kitchen to see if Mercedes needs any help. Sure she doesn't want to be doing chores, but she was serious about taking a break from men for once. The excited feeling Felicity leaves her with is just proof that her flirtatious ways are just messing with her head.  
  
\----  
  
After dinner, Sylvia practically races towards the dorms. She'd thought talking to Mercedes would have helped, but instead she'd spent their entire time making biscuits together thinking about Felicity. The entire batch ended up being inedible, with half of the biscuits burnt, and the other half too salty to eat.  
  
In her room, she kicks off her shoes in a rush. She snatches the massage oil off of the desk. She'd left it there the week before so that she could grab it easily if Felicity ever brought it up again. She walks confidently towards Felicity's room, knocking in case she hadn't made it back from the dining hall yet.  
  
"Come in," shouts a voice from inside.  
  
Sylvia pushes open the door to see that Felicity is already ready. Her hair is down from her bun again, cascading softly down her naked back. It's darker outside than the first time they did this, so a lantern is lit by her bed, casting her pale skin in a warm glow. Sylvia stands awestruck at the door, and Felicity pokes her head up from her pillow to glare at her.  
  
"Close the door already, can't you see I'm topless?" she barks.  
  
Sylvia swallows thickly, slamming the door shut with a thud.  
  
"Sorry," she murmurs, walking over to the bed.  
  
Felicity hums, resting her head back down on the pillow.  
  
"You know, for someone who didn't want to do this before, you sure seem eager," she jokes, "Was I that good last time?"  
  
She almost expects Felicity to throw the pillow at her head, but instead she stays silent.  
  
"You were fine," she mumbles, and Sylvia blushes.   
  
_Oh_, she thinks, _they're both excited for this_.  
  
With a sudden increase in motivation, she rushes up onto the bed, straddling Felicity just like last time. She wastes no time in starting the massage, thoroughly rubbing oil into her friend's skin, just like last time.  
  
The bruise from before is fading fast, now a light yellow colour instead of the dark purple it was before. She slides her hand over it tenderly, trying to remember what Felicity liked from the last time they did this. The mood is somehow heavier than before. This time, instead of having to be coaxed into it, Felicity relaxes into her touch right away. She breathes deeply underneath her, calm, and Sylvia finds herself really wanting to make this good for her. She's almost surprised at how badly she wants to have Felicity moaning under her touch again. She takes a deep breath in and starts expertly kneading the muscles around Felicity's lower back. If she remembers correctly, Felicity liked it a bit rough.  
  
She begins to apply firmer pressure, delighted when Felicity responds with a breathy sigh. She has too much pride sometimes, she thinks, she's cuter when she lets herself be vulnerable like this. If any men were around they'd be all over her. She frowns at the thought, shaking her head to dispel it. She digs her heels into Felicity's back, trying to focus all of her attention on the massage.  
  
She tries out a new technique where she folds one hand over the other and pushes all of her weight into it, moving from the very bottom of her back all the way to her shoulders. She'd been worried that it might be too much pressure, but Felicity doesn't seem to mind. After a few minutes, she switches to fanning her hands out along her shoulder blades, and lightly digging her thumbs in around the bones. After, she trails the tips of her fingers down to the edge of Felicity's pajama bottoms, pushing the heels of her hands towards Felicity's sides before meeting back up at the spine and pushing out again.  
  
She falls into a sort of a trance, moving her hands all over the exposed skin in a variety of ways. She doesn't just focus on the back this time, deciding to grip her hands around Felicity's well-toned arms and pulling them down towards her wrists. Her training regime has left her arms feeling firm, and the massage oil makes her skin glisten in a way that really helps define her muscles. Sylvia is almost jealous of how good she looks.  
  
As she's massaging her arms, Sylvia suddenly has the uncontrollable urge to grab her hand. She wants to interlock their fingers, leaving massage oil in between her knuckles— wants to rub her thumbs into the meaty part of her palms, and gently massage her wrists. She doesn't though, because she's afraid Felicity would find it weird. It's not like she hurt her hands while training. She sighs, rubbing her hands back up Felicity's arms and down again.  
  
Sylvia thinks that she's been at this long enough that she can start pulling out her best moves. She uses the knuckles of her hand to really press in to Felicity's back. She focuses in on an area around the base of her neck that happens to have a knot. Felicity moans at the contact, just like she expected her to. Sylvia grins, pleased that this is going her way, and pleased that she got Felicity moaning again. She works the same area thoroughly, determined to get out the knot in her back. Felicity buries her face even deeper in her pillow to muffle the sounds, but it doesn't stop Sylvia from noticing her other reactions. She decides she wants to tease her a bit for calling her massage technique just "fine". Felicity clutches at her sheets, twisting them up above her head, and Sylvia can't help but to lean down close to her ears.  
  
"You're so into this," she whispers, "I wasn't expecting that."  
  
"Shut up," Felicity snaps, but there's no real bite to it.  
  
"Awww, are you embarrassed?" she giggles, raking her hands across her back, "Or are you saying you don't actually like this?"  
  
Felicity groans beneath her.  
  
"I told you before that it's fine," she says, trying to sound more put together than she is.  
  
"Just fine? You aren't going along with this for my sake, right?"  
  
"Sylvia, I swear to Goddess—"  
  
"C'mon Fefe," she giggles again, dropping her voice down low, "Tell me that you like this."  
  
"Sylvie."  
  
"I could just stop?" she says, lifting her hands up completely.  
  
Felicity fists her sheets harder, seething.  
  
"Don't," she begs. The sound goes straight to Sylvia's groin, but she doesn't relent.  
  
"Huh? Sorry, I couldn't hear you."  
  
"Don't stop," she forces out, "It feels... good."  
  
Sylvia hums. The warm feeling from last time is back, settling somewhere deep in her stomach. Her eyes fall half-lidded.  
  
"Yeah?" she breathes, "Well why didn't you just say so?"  
  
Felicity turns her face to the side and glares at her.  
  
"I just— Oooooh~" she moans as Sylvia dives right back into what she was doing. Sylvia doesn't miss the way her brows stitch together, mouth hanging slightly open. The warmth in her stomach grows hotter.  
  
They keep at it for another hour or so before Felicity sends her back to her room, claiming a need for sleep. Sylvia slinks back next door, slightly ashamed of herself for getting so horny over something so innocent.  
  
\----  
  
She wakes up the next morning to the phantom feeling of her best-friend's lips and an uncomfortable wetness in her underwear. She groans as she comes into consciousness. She wishes she could say she's surprised, but after her reactions to last night, this was inevitable.  
  
"Welp, I'm fucked," she says to the room.  
  
She lays there, paralyzed under the covers and staring at the ceiling. Despite the fact that this was an inevitable response, it wasn't exactly a welcome one. Sure, she's had people in her life before that she didn't want to be sexually attracted to, but this was different— this was Felicity. The same Felicity that grew up with her, that she told all her secrets to, that fought with her in countless battles. She refuses to let their relationship get fucked up over some weird, new-found attraction.  
  
And she knows it would fuck up their relationship. Felicity hates these kinds of things. She vaguely remembers a young Felicity crying to her after sharing her first kiss with one of the stable boys, sobbing over how disgusting she thought the whole thing was.  
  
She sighs as she finally moves from her bed. I guess I'll just have to avoid her for a bit, she thinks. She goes about her morning routine, determined to rid herself of these useless feelings before she even looks at Felicity again.  
  
It's easier in theory than in practice of course, because their rooms are so close Felicity usually ends up being the first person she sees in the morning. When she steps out the door, Felicity is just locking up. She gives Sylvia a quick nod of acknowledgement, but Sylvia can't trust herself to meet her eyes. She leaves her own room unlocked and walks away, pretending as if she never saw her. She can feel Felicity staring at her as she walks, but all it does is cause her to move faster.  
  
Much of the day goes by similarly. She doesn't stop by the training room that morning, she skips class to go fishing, and she spends the majority of her day with Dimitri just because she knows Felicity would likely avoid them. She even turns down the Professor when he asks her if she and Felicity would like to have lunch with him.  
  
Felicity has definitely caught on too, because by the end of the day, when they pass each other in the hall, she resolutely turns her face and stomps away. It stings a little, but she knows she's brought this on herself. In a week or two, when she's found someone new to have uncomfortable wet dreams about, she'll make a grand apology. She'll even let her get in a hit or two before they start one of their sparring sessions.  
  
\----  
  
A week or two later, she is still not over it. In fact, a week or two later she's actually less over it than she was before. She's taken to outright hiding from Felicity, just to keep her thoughts in check. She'd even taken Ingrid up on her request to help her clean the stables.  
  
She looks less happy about it than she thought she would, though.  
  
"Sylvia, what are you doing here?" she asks in a huff.  
  
"What?" she asks, leaning over to feed one of the pegasus a treat, "I'm helping like you wanted me to."  
  
"That's precisely the problem," she says, "You never do what I ask you to. What are you playing at?"  
  
Sylvia frowns at her.  
  
"I'm not playing at anything. Can't a woman help out one of her closest childhood friends without there being a catch?"  
  
Ingrid stares at her blankly.  
  
"No," she says bluntly.  
  
They stare at each other for a few seconds, engaging in some sort of silent argument, before Sylvia finally breaks.  
  
"Fine, I'm hiding from Felicity."  
  
"Huh," Ingrid starts, looking not very shocked, "You know I did think there was something strange going on between the two of you."  
  
Sylvia doesn't say anything, just nods in agreement as she slowly brushes the mane of her own pegasus. _Ingrid's noticed, huh_.  
  
Ingrid leans her body up against a wooden pillar, swishing the water in her bucket around. She stands there, calmly studying Sylvia's face.  
  
"So what happened?" she asks.  
  
Sylvia cringes, pulling just a bit too hard with her brush. After a few seconds she answers.  
  
"Nothing."  
  
Ingrid looks at her skeptically.  
  
"Nothing?"  
  
Sylvia sighs, slumping over herself.  
  
"Honestly, it's nothing. I've just been creating my own issues in my head. I'll get over it soon enough."  
  
Ingrid nods thoughtfully.  
  
"Well, if nothing's happened then you should stop avoiding her, she says.  
  
"Yeah," she agrees, even though she has no plans on doing that.  
  
"I'm serious," Ingrid scolds, but that's the end of the conversation.  
  
\----  
  
  
She'd just been getting used to her new Felicity-less routine, when Annette comes bursting into her room at eight o'clock in the morning, just to yell at her.  
  
"You need to talk to Felicity," she snaps.  
  
Sylvia blinks awake, trying to take in the figure in front of her.  
  
"Hey, don't just come in without knocking," she yawns, "People are sleeping."  
  
"I'm being serious!" she continues, marching over to stand by her bed.  
  
"I'm being serious about the door thing," she argues back. Annette bristles.  
  
"Oh, you— Why won't you talk to Felicity?" she yells.  
  
Sylvia wants to play dumb, but something about the way Annette is standing tells her that's not an option. It's hard to make Annette genuinely angry, after all. She sighs.  
  
"I don't want to yet," she admits, embarrassed at herself.  
  
Annette stomps her foot down in frustration, flailing her hands around like she's known to do when overcome with emotion.  
  
"It doesn't matter if you want to, you need to! Whatever the two of you fought about, she's taking it out on everyone else! Mercie and I are tired of having to heal everybody all the time!"  
  
Sylvia tilts her head in confusion.  
  
"What?" she says, "What are you talking about?"  
  
Annette lets out a long, exasperated sigh before continuing. A sinking feeling settles in her gut.  
  
"Ever since the two of you stopped talking, Felicity has been throwing all of her energy into training. Even more so than usual!" she adds just as Sylvia was about to interrupt, "She's been getting anybody be can to spar with her, and it's becoming downright reckless. She got hurt so bad last week that we couldn't even do anything! We had to send her to the infirmary!"  
  
Sylvia sits there stunned.  
  
"I— I didn't know about that."  
  
"Of course you didn't!" Annette squeaks, "Because you won't talk to each other!"  
  
Regret flows through her veins like lightning through water. _Felicity was in the infirmary and I didn't know about it? It hasn't been that long since we last talked has it? I can't believe nobody told me, I can't believe she—_  
  
"Fuck, I— Where is she?"  
  
Annette looks at her and takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. Soon her face is molding from an angry scowl back to that of a concerned classmate.  
  
"In the same place she always is," she says.  
  
Sylvia nods, understanding immediately. _Fuck_, she think,_ I've been such an idiot_.  
  
"Thank you," she says, genuinely grateful for Annette, "And look, I'm so sorry you and Mercedes had to deal with that. I'll go talk with her now."  
  
Annette nods, accepting the apology.  
  
"Alright, so long as you understand," she says, sounding much happier, and then skips away to give Sylvia some privacy.  
  
It doesn't take her much time at all to get ready— she just throws on some shoes and leaves. She rushes to the training grounds with her nightgown still on, and it billows in the wind as she runs.  
  
The second she gets to the doors she knows something is wrong. There are people lined straight up out the door to see whatever's going on inside. She pushes through the crowd of people, and as soon as she sees what's happening she's filled with dread. In the middle of the room stands Felicity, looking very much worse for wear, facing off against what looks to be ten whole Knights of Seiros.  
  
The crowd cheers as she fends off the knights, felling them one by one— but she doesn't come out of it unscathed. One of the knights bounds towards her, slamming her in the ribs with his wooden sword. She topples backwards, barely holding her balance, and he takes the opportunity to knock the sword right out of her hands. She growls at him, not thinking twice before lunging back and striking him down with her fists.  
  
Sylvia blanches at the sight. _Oh Goddess, what is she doing? Fuck, this is all my fault_. She elbows her way to the front of the crowd, feeling desperate. She has to apologize before Felicity does even more damage to herself.  
  
Felicity throws the man to her side, sprinting to get her discarded sword before the others attack. She grasps it tightly, turning around to face her enemies, and Sylvia sees the exact moment when Felicity notices her. Her eyes go wide and the grip on her sword loosens a bit. She stands frozen as one of the three remaining knights crashes right into her, throwing the two of them to the ground. She gasps as she watches Felicity's leg bend unnaturally, thumping hard against the ground. The pain on her face is visible, even from as far away as she's standing. Sylvia runs out towards her.  
  
"Stop the fight!" she screams, voice shrill.  
  
The knights stop moving, watching as she races towards them. She screams again.  
  
"Stop the fight! It's over! Go home!"  
  
She's at her side within seconds, and the crowd around them starts to dwindle, realizing that nothing else is going to happen tonight.  
  
"Are you okay?" she asks.  
  
Felicity doesn't respond, refusing to look at her. It causes a stabbing pain in her chest, but she swallows it down. She has to make sure Felicity's alright. She frantically moves to inspect her leg, rolling the socks down about half-way before her hand is swatted away.  
  
"Don't touch me," Felicity growls.  
  
Sylvia looks down at her, hand hanging loosely in the air. She looks pissed, even with her face half obscured. Her brows are furrowed together, her jaw is set in a hard line, and her face is absolutely red with anger. Sylvia bites her lip. _This is all because of me_.  
  
"Felicity, please," she whispers, ready to beg if she needs to, "I just want to help you."  
  
Felicity looks back at her bitterly, tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes.  
  
"Why?" she asks, voice breaking, "I thought you wanted nothing to do with me anymore."  
  
Sylvia is stunned at the sight. Felicity used to cry a lot when they were younger, but it's something she's since grown out of. Watching her like this breaks her heart.  
  
"Felicity, you're my best-friend, of course I want something to do with you. I want everything to do with you."  
  
Felicity looks away again, clenching her jaw.  
  
"Then why are you avoiding me?"  
  
Sylvia looks down at the ground, embarrassed.  
  
"I'm not," she says.  
  
Felicity laughs sharply, and Sylvia winces at the sound.  
  
"I'm not anymore," she clarifies.  
  
Felicity turns back to her, staring up into her eyes. The minutes tick by as Felicity begins to assess her, searching for any hint of a lie. She sits up, face smoothing out slightly.  
  
"Fine," she says.  
  
That one word fills Sylvia with so much relief, she jumps forward to hug her. Felicity recoils from the force of it, wrapping her arms around Sylvia more for balance than a need to return the gesture.  
  
"Thank you Felicity," Sylvia says, squishing her tighter before pulling away.  
  
She turns to pull down the rest of Felicity's sock. She grimaces at the sight. Her leg doesn't look great, but her foot looks awful. If she thought that bruise on her back was bad, this was about a hundred times worse. Her entire calf is covered in cuts and bruises, and her foot seems to have swollen to twice its size. Sylvia prods it lightly to gauge her reaction and sure enough she hisses from the pain.  
  
"Don't poke at it!" she yells.  
  
"Sorry," she apologizes, "I think you've sprained your ankle, though."  
  
"Tch, that's just great, another trip to the infirmary. Professor Manuela's gonna have my head."  
  
"Do you want me to carry you there?"  
  
"Well there's nobody else here to do it now is there?" she says, scanning around the empty room.  
  
Sylvia laughs softly.  
  
"Right, of course, what was I thinking," she says, "Now here, just let me—"  
  
"Hey, wait—" Felicity shouts just as Sylvia lifts her off of the ground. She holds her in a princess-carry, "Give me some warning will you?"  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
Felicity leans into the embrace, sighing.  
  
"It's fine. I did ask you to carry me—"  
  
"No," Sylvia says.  
  
Felicity blinks at the outburst, looking up at Sylvia in confusion. She continues after a beat.  
  
"I mean, for everything. I shouldn't have ignored you for so long."  
  
Felicity swallows thickly as they start walking, reaching up to brush away her tears from earlier. She frowns.  
  
"Are you ever going to tell me what that was about?" she asks, vulnerable in a way Sylvia wishes she didn't have to see.  
  
Sylvia looks away, face turning beet red.  
  
"I— No, probably not. Not right now at least."  
  
Felicity frowns deeper. Sylvia continues.  
  
"But I promise I won't ever do that to you again."  
  
Sylvia looks down at her with so much conviction, and Felicity nods, despite being clearly unsatisfied.  
  
"Good," she says.  
  
They make the rest of their way down to the infirmary in silence.  
  
\----  
  
Professor Manuela had been absolutely livid when the two of them showed up at the infirmary. She'd had a whole speech ready about how Felicity couldn't just expect mages to be around all the time, and she'd scolded them both while tending to Felicity's injury, before shooing them away. Sylvia remembers the way Felicity had moved her leg back and forth experimentally, frowning the whole time.  
  
"It's only been half healed," she had said.  
  
"Exactly! It's your punishment, as well as the only thing I can think of to get you to stop this reckless behaviour. You'll need to stay off that leg as much as you can while it heals naturally."  
  
That had been a week ago, and Sylvia had spent the entire time from then till now tending to Felicity's wounds.   
  
She carries a plate up from the dining hall after breakfast. When she enters the room, Felicity sits up immediately. She takes three long strides towards her before setting her plate of food on the chair beside her bed.  
  
"Thank you," Felicity says, grabbing a few strips of bacon off the plate and shoveling them into her mouth.  
  
"No problem," she says, "What are friends for?"  
  
Felicity hums, munching thoughtfully on her bacon.  
  
"Can I ask something of you?" she says out of nowhere. Sylvia blinks.  
  
"Of course, that's what I'm here for. What do you need?"  
  
"I was thinking about your apology..." she trails off.  
  
Sylvia's stomach drops.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I don't think it was good enough."  
  
It feels like a punch in the gut, but she can't say she didn't see it coming.  
  
"Oh."  
  
Felicity snickers at the torn-apart look on her face, which Sylvia thinks is a mixed signal. She starts again.  
  
"I think you should try harder, considering you won't even tell me why you were ignoring me."  
  
A glimmer of hope.  
  
"Fefe, I will do literally anything to make it up to you."  
  
Felicity looks down at her food, blushing.  
  
"I want you to massage my leg," she says softly, "It hurts."  
  
"I—" Sylvia stutters out, trying to think of any way she can get out of this without giving herself away or ruining what fragile thing she has with Felicity right now. She comes up with nothing, "Yeah, I can do that."  
  
Felicity smiles.  
  
"Good."  
  
Sylvia looks down at her feet, playing awkwardly with her hair.  
  
"Um, did you want me to do it right now?" she asks.  
  
Felicity takes a second to think it over.  
  
"Yeah, now would be fine," she says, "Here, give me the plate and you can sit on the chair while you do it."  
  
Sylvia nods, handing her the half-empty plate. She then helps Felicity throw the covers off her legs, slumping down in the chair. Felicity scoots herself towards the side of the bed, dangling both of her legs over the edge. Sylvia realizes something is missing.  
  
"We ran out of massage oil last time," she says, "Do you have anything else that could work?"  
  
"I have some lotion from Professor Manuela gave me. Helps the healing process apparently, it's in the drawer of my desk."  
  
Sylvia nods, scrambling over to retrieve it. She opens the drawer and takes out a small-sized, tinted vial.  
  
"Oh no, that's not— That's something else," she says, "It's in a black pot."  
  
Sylvia raises an eyebrow questioningly, curious about the mysterious vial of liquid, but Felicity avoid her gaze. Sylvia shrugs and checks through the drawer again, seeing the black pot immediately. She snatches it up and closes the drawer with her hips.  
  
Sylvia moves back to her seat, placing the pot on the bed, before carefully lifting up Felicity's injured leg and dropping it onto her thighs. As soon as Sylvia begins, Felicity starts eating again. She doesn't look at the food though, eyes trained solely on Sylvia's hands.  
  
She runs her lotion-coated hands up and down Felicity's leg slowly. It doesn't spread as easily as the massage oil, so she has to repeatedly take more out from the pot. Still, she eventually covers the whole area.  
  
Sylvia notices that her leg looks a lot better. Her bruises have faded already, and her sprained ankle is more or less back to its original size. She figures it will only be a few more days until Felicity can start walking again.  
  
She keeps rubbing, applying more pressure as time passes by, trying to determine what a good amount is what with Felicity still not being completely healed. She looks up to see if Felicity is still watching, and she isn't. Instead, her head is thrown to the side, eyes shut tight and biting her lip.  
  
Sylvia flushes red. She's so beautiful, she can't believe she never noticed it before. Without thinking, she loosens her pressure, and soon she's trailing fingers, feather-light, up and down her legs. She doesn't even notice that she's doing it. Felicity does though, and she kicks her leg up before collapsing in a fit of giggles. Sylvia fixates on the sound. Her laugh is cute too, she thinks.  
  
"Stop," Felicity pleads, unable to contain her laughter "Oh my Goddess, stop, that tickles."  
  
Felicity tries to knock her hands away, but some childish part inside Sylvia ignites, and she starts doing it on purpose.  
  
"Sylvia, seriously," she hiccups, sounding about on the verge of tears, "I'm gonna drop my— oh shit."  
  
The plate she was holding falls upside down on her bed, dripping egg yolk onto the comforter. Sylvia can't help cracking a smile at her shocked expression.  
  
"I'm sorry," she laughs, "I'll clean that up for you."  
  
Felicity frowns at her, but you can tell she's trying very hard not to laugh.  
  
"You're lucky I can't walk or I'd kill you where you stand," she says in a pretend threatening voice.  
  
Sylvia puts on a face of mock offense, gasping dramatically.  
  
"You would kill your only friend?"  
  
Felicity rolls her eyes.  
  
"You are not my only friend," she says.  
  
"I'm your only friend that matters," Sylvia argues back.  
  
Felicity picks up a pillow from her bed and whacks it over her head.  
  
"Don't get cocky," she says, voice light.  
  
Sylvia grins, fixing her hair back into place.  
  
"You know it's true though."  
  
"Yeah," she admits quietly, and honestly Sylvia wasn't expecting that.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Of course, Sylvia. You're my best-friend. Besides, if I killed you, I would be breaking our promise."  
  
Sylvia's eyes widen a little.  
  
"Our promise?" she asks.  
  
"Yeah, you know, 'We'll stay together until we die together'. Remember?"  
  
Sylvia does. Of course she does. It has been a sweet, if a bit naive, promise that they had made as children.  
  
"Yeah," she says honestly, "I just didn't think you did."  
  
"Of course I remember. It was an important moment in my life."  
  
Sylvia's mouth drops open in shock. She's touched that Felicity would hold that memory so close to her heart, that she'd regard it as an important moment in her life. Her heart pounds hard against her chest, and she's hit with a stunning epiphany; she doesn't just 'want' Felicity— She has actual, honest to goodness feelings for her. She smiles brightly.  
  
"It was important for me too."  
  
They stare at each other for just a few seconds too long, and then Felicity breaks away, coughing awkwardly into her hand.  
  
"Okay now," she says, "Enough with the nostalgia. You still have to wash my comforter."  
  
She bundles the blanket up into a ball, throwing it towards Sylvia. Sylvia catches it in her arms, peeking out from behind the mountain to see Felicity smiling fondly at her.   
  
She walks out of the room with a new resolve. She's not going to run from her feelings anymore, and she can't just keep taking it out on Felicity. She'll just have to deal with the fact that this crush isn't going away anytime soon. And if suffering in silence is what she has to do to keep her friendship intact— that's just what she's going to do.  
  
\----  
  
Time passes and life goes pretty much back to normal— except that their class just won the mock battle. With Professor Byleth on their side, they really didn't stand a chance of losing, but it's still exciting to know their efforts paid off.  
  
Sylvia sits across the table from Felicity during the celebratory feast, but they don't actually get to talk much among all the hustle and bustle. Right now, Ingrid is packing as much food as she possibly can onto her plate, looking a bit like a child in a candy store, and somewhere along the way the blue lions had gained a new member at their table. Raphael had come over to try and steal a plate of food, and somehow that had morphed into him and Flayn having some sort of weird screaming match at the corner of the table. The air around her is filled with joy, and it makes her feel light.  
  
After a full month of working herself to the bone, she finally had some time to relax. It was a tough few weeks— training her flying skills with Ingrid every morning, and her lance skills with Felicity every night. To be honest, it had been putting a lot of strain on her. She daydreams about taking a nice long dip in the bathhouse after this. If only it was working right now. She'll have to just settle for a good night's rest. She looks back around the table, glad she got to celebrate with everyone first.  
  
She knocks back the rest of her drink, slamming it down on the table with vigour. She stands up, wide smile on her face, and motions for everyone's attention.  
  
"It was a lovely night out with you all," she sing-songs, "But I'm done for the night."  
  
The table erupts in a series of boos, which she laughs at, waving them goodbye.  
  
"See you tomorrow!" Ingrid calls as she leaves, and she gives her back a tiny salute in return.  
  
She walks back to the dorms with a skip in her step, feeling equal parts happy and exhausted. She stops when she hears the heavy fall of footsteps behind her, and turns to see Felicity jogging over. She pats her roughly on the shoulder when catches up.  
  
"Hey, what are you leaving so early for?" she asks, voice light and curious. Their victory had put even Felicity in a good mood it seems.  
  
"I was just heading back to the dorms," she yawns, "All that training lately has got me knackered. I'm telling you, every muscle in my body hurts like hell right now."  
  
Felicity hums in understanding. After all, she'd been working hard for this too.  
  
"I know something that can help that," she says, "If you want."  
  
"Yeah?" asks Sylvia, oblivious, "And what would that be?"  
  
Felicity rolls her eyes.  
  
"Don't be daft, Sylvia, it's a bad look on you," she lifts up her hands, making a show of twiddling her fingers, "I'm offering to return the favour."  
  
Sylvia gulps, cursing how easy it is for Felicity to rile her up these days.  
  
"You mean you want to give me a massage?" she asks.  
  
"What else would I mean?"  
  
Sylvia thinks it over for a second. Normally she would say no, or at least fight her a bit, but she wasn't lying earlier about the pain.  
  
"Well I can't say no to that now can I?"  
  
Felicity smiles.  
  
"Let's go to your room then."  
  
They walk up the steps, and down the hall to Sylvia's room, in silence. Felicity isn't the type to make conversation, and Sylvia is just far too tired to try. When they arrive at the door, Sylvia has a traitorous thought about how nice it would be to bring Felicity back to her room under different circumstances. She twists open the door, and they both shuffle inside. Felicity scans the room.  
  
"Where is the massage oil?" she asks.  
  
"We used it all before, remember? You can just do it over my clothes, it's not like we absolutely need it."  
  
Felicity scoffs, grabbing at Felicity's shirt.  
  
"Don't be ridiculous," she says, one-by-one undoing her buttons, "That'll just make it harder for me to do."  
  
Sylvia stares at her in shock, goosebumps raising on her skin as Felicity skillfully undresses her. She slides her top and jacket off in one go, letting them fall unceremoniously to the floor. Sylvia flushes, suddenly feeling very exposed in front of her crush. She reaches up to cover her breasts, even though she still has a bra on. Felicity raises an eyebrow at the action.  
  
"Really?" she snorts, "All that sex you have, and yet you're still shy about nudity?"  
  
Sylvia slumps down onto her bed, hugging her chest tightly.  
  
"Sorry Felicity, but if you want to see me naked, you're going to have to buy me dinner first."  
  
Felicity groans at the line, mumbling something that sounds like, "Typical," under her breath.  
  
"Are you sure you don't have any secret bottles of massage oil lying around?" she asks not a second later.  
  
Sylvia scratches her head for a second.  
  
"Well, not that I know of. Do you have any of that lotion left?"  
  
Felicity sighs.  
  
"I'll be right back," she says, and then promptly leaves the room.  
  
She comes back with the mysterious vial from her drawer.  
  
"Hey, I thought you said that wasn't massage oil last time?"  
  
Felicity shakes her head.  
  
"It isn't, but the lotion is gone and this will have to do."  
  
"Well if it isn't massage oil then what is it?"  
  
Felicity squirts some of the mysterious liquid into her hands.  
  
"It's lube."  
  
_ What._  
  
Sylvia tilts her head in genuine confusion.  
  
"Like... For your sword, you mean?"  
  
"No, dumbass. For sex. It heats up."  
  
Sylvia blinks in astonishment.  
  
"What do you have sex lube for?"  
  
"For sex, obviously."  
  
The realization hits her like a bag of bricks. _There are still things I don't know about Felicity yet. Things she never told me. Big things like—_  
  
"You're not a virgin?"  
  
Felicity blinks.  
  
"No, why would you think that?"  
  
_A million reasons!_  
  
"I— No— but you hate romance! You never come out with me to pick up guys, even when I beg!"  
  
Felicity rolls her eyes.  
  
"That's because I don't like men, not because I don't like sex."  
  
Sylvia's heart drops.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'm gay, Sylvia."  
  
"You— you like women?"  
  
Felicity nods, finally dropping down next to Sylvia on the bed. She begins massaging the liquid into her shoulder. It leaves a weird tingly sensation, which does seem to make her skin feel warmer. It's definitely not the only reason she feels warm right now, though.  
  
_Felicity likes women_, she thinks, it repeats in her head like a mantra, _Felicity likes women, Felicity likes women, what if Felicity liked me? Does this mean I have a chance? Shit, I can't just ask her that now, just focus on the massage._   
  
She concentrates on the feeling of Felicity palming at her shoulder. She rubs the area in a circular pattern, following the motion down her arm. Her hands feel rough and calloused, probably from years of sword training, but she moves them skillfully. She imagines those hands touching another woman. _What if I'm not even her type?_ She tenses at the thought.  
  
Felicity lets out a deep sigh.  
  
"Whatever you want to ask, just spit it out already. I'm never going to get you to relax with your head spinning at a thousand miles a minute over there."  
  
Sylvia jumps at her voice, not sure how to respond. She considers asking a bunch of different things, like why Felicity never told her when she lost her virginity, or when exactly she had time to have sex since she's always training. One question nags at the back of her mind though, and it's one, she tells herself, that would be foolish to ask. Her mouth betrays her.  
  
"Am I your type?"  
  
Felicity looks taken aback.  
  
"That's... not what I thought you were going to ask."  
  
Sylvia leans in closer, earnestly awaiting an answer.  
  
"Well am I?"  
  
Felicity scowls.  
  
"You don't have to worry about me being attracted to you, Sylvia, I'm not attracted to every woman I meet."  
  
_I would hope not_, she thinks. She has a feeling Felicity might get angry if she presses further, but she needs to know the answer.  
  
"But are you attracted to me, specifically?"  
  
Felicity rips her hands off Sylvia's shoulder like she'd been burned. She balls up her fists at her side, and shoots up from the bed, looking just about ready to storm out. Sylvia grabs at her top.  
  
"Wait, Felicity, you don't get it. I'm not worried, I—" she stares down at the ground, "I want you to be."  
  
"What?" she asks, disbelieving.   
  
Sylvia lifts up her head to look her straight in the eyes.  
  
"I want you to be attracted to me."  
  
Felicity's anger seems to subside at the admission, quickly turning back into her usual 'annoyed at everything' demeanor.  
  
"Of course you just wanted your ego stroked," she sighs.  
  
Sylvia drops the shirt she was holding, frantically moving her hands back and forth.  
  
"No, look I— You know how I haven't been bringing back any men lately?"  
  
Felicity stares down at her, thinking back over the past few months.  
  
"Now that I think about it, it has been a while."  
  
Sylvia nods eagerly.  
  
"Right? Well it's because I haven't been interested in men lately."  
  
Felicity frowns.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean."  
  
"Well..." Sylvia starts, taking a deep breath and steeling herself for the worst. She continues nervously, playing idly with her hair, "...It means I've been thinking a lot lately. Mostly about you. And how I feel about you, which is to say—"  
  
"Woah, woah, woah, hold up," Felicity groans, "Don't tell me you're trying to use your lines on me now? Ingrid's right, you really will go after anything that moves."  
  
Sylvia recoils at the words, eyes flashing with hurt.  
  
"What? That's not—"  
  
"Stop, Sylvia! I can put up with a lot from you, but don't you fucking dare pretend you're in love with me."  
  
"I said that's not—"  
  
Felicity growls, shutting her up by leaning in close and swallowing any arguments in an open mouthed kiss. Sylvia's eyes flutter closed on instinct, and time feels like it stopped. Felicity kisses her, slow and gentle, but Sylvia can't even begin to enjoy it. Felicity pulls away then, both too quickly and not quickly enough.  
  
"There," she say, mockingly, "Are you satisfied with your little experiment now?"  
  
Sylvia bolts up from the bed, screaming.  
  
"It's not an experiment, Felicity!"  
  
Felicity looks at her with disappointment.  
  
"Forgive me if I don't believe you."  
  
Sylvia feels so many emotions at once it's hard to keep them straight. At the top of the list is frustration. She wants to scream at the top of her lungs, just aching to get it all out, or throw something breakable across the room, but— Felicity starts crying.  
  
Her face twists into an unrecognizable emotion. Somehow she looks sad and angry and disappointed all at once, but she's crying so hard with this blank look on her face.  
  
"I'm leaving," she says suddenly, turning to stomp away. Sylvia reaches for her shirt again, but Felicity knocks it away, "And don't follow me."  
  
Sylvia watches as she storms out, slamming the door hard.  
  
She waits until she can't hear footsteps anymore to let the first tear fall, and soon she's collapsing into ugly sobs on her bed. In all of her years, she'd never really experienced rejection like this, and to see one of her oldest friends looking at her with so much disgust— she falls asleep that night clutching a pillow, damp with her own tears.  
  
\----  
  
Sylvia wakes up the next morning feeling like shit. She goes about the beginning of her day in a daze, completely oblivious to the passage of time.  
  
Somewhere along the line, she finds herself in the dining hall, eating sorbet. Felicity hates sorbet, she thinks, and suddenly she can't seem to take another bite. She pokes idly at her food, sighing. Ashe looks over at her concerned.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asks.  
  
She grunts instead of answering, and his brows stitch further together.  
  
"Are you fighting with Felicity again?"  
  
Sylvia slumps further into her cloud of sorrow, and Ashe winces. Clearly that had been the wrong thing to ask. She sighs loudly across from him.   
  
"You could say that," she says, quickly adding, "It's nothing serious, I'm just feeling a bit broken hearted."  
  
Ashe's eyebrows shoot up in surprise.  
  
"You? Heartbroken?" he gasps, followed by a confused sounding, "Wait, what does that have to do with Felicity?"  
  
Sylvia looks over at him with a look of pure misery, and suddenly it clicks.  
  
"Oh," he stutters out, "I really didn't know you two were like that."  
  
Sylvia sighs.  
  
"We weren't," she says, and she leaves it at that.  
  
Ashe throws her a pitying look that does absolutely nothing to make her feel better.  
  
"Felicity turned you down, huh?"  
  
"Yeah," she grumbles.  
  
He takes a bite of his own sorbet, looking thoughtful.  
  
"Well that is surprising," he says out of nowhere.  
  
Sylvia laughs, a depressing sound, one that reminds Ashe a bit of himself after Lonato had died. If he's being honest, he thinks it's a bit silly to make this kind of fuss over somebody who's still alive and well, but he keeps it to himself.  
  
"It's not surprising," she says lowly, "She just knows she's too good for me."  
  
"Hey, I'm sure she doesn't think—"  
  
"Goodbye, Ashe," she says as she picks up her half-eaten dish, walking away at a snail's pace, "We'll speak again when I'm in a better mood, 'kay?"  
  
Ashe feels like he shouldn't leave her alone, but he's not sure how to get her to stay. In the end, he just agrees.  
  
"Alright, Sylvia. I hope you'll feel better soon."  
  
Sylvia lifts up the corners of her mouth just barely, and then she's out the door.  
  
\----  
  
  
Later in the day, she's being forced into choir practice. This is where Mercedes and Annette find her. They march over to her in between songs. They have matching frowns on.  
  
"Sylvia," Mercedes starts, lovely as ever, "Ashe told us what happened. Are you doing okay?"  
  
Sylvia plasters on a fake smile.  
  
"Don't worry Mercedes, I was just being dramatic earlier. I've been rejected before, trust me I'm fine."  
  
But she hadn't really. All of the guys she'd gone out with before had wanted one thing and one thing only— her crest. This was the first time that a rejection actually meant anything, and both Mercedes and Annette knew that.  
  
"You don't have to put on a show for us," Mercedes says in that soothing voice of hers, "Right, Annie?"  
  
Annette nods her head vigourously, adding, "Of course, Sylvie! We're here for you!" in an enthusiastic voice.  
  
Sylvia offers them both one small, genuine smile, before suddenly falling apart again.  
  
"I think she hates me now," she whispers, terrified.  
  
Annette and Mercedes share a look.  
  
"Sylvia, that's..." Mercedes starts, trailing off.  
  
"Impossible," Annette finishes for her.  
  
Mercedes nods in agreement.  
  
"Annie is right, your friendship is much stronger than that," she says.  
  
Sylvia sighs.  
  
"You didn't see the way she looked at me when I confessed. She thinks I'm some kind of disgusting, loveless harlot."  
  
"I'm sure she doesn't think that," Mercedes assure, "You know she can be a bit abrasive sometimes. Annie thought the same thing when she was dating her."  
  
Sylvia looks up at that. Annette's face flushes red.  
  
"Mercie! Don't tell her that!" she shout whispers, before quickly turning to face Sylvia, "It barely lasted a month, I swear."  
  
"You dated Felicity?" she asks, voice breaking.  
  
Annette's eyes blow wide. She bites her lip, then starts fiddling with her hands, and staring down at her shoes.   
  
"For a short bit, yeah."  
  
Sylvia swallows her insecurities down. _Of course she would like Annette_, she thinks, _Annette is a lovely girl. She's the exact opposite of me._  
  
"Sorry it didn't work out," she says softly.  
  
Annette looks up into Sylvia's eyes, giving her the same pitying look that Ashe had earlier.  
  
"We broke up because of you, you know. Her friendship with you means more to her than anything. More than her swords, more than her title, and more than me."  
  
Her gaze drops back down to her feet.  
  
"So have some faith okay?"  
  
\----  
  
Sylvia rushes out of the church at the first chance she can. While Sylvia's talk with Annette had been enlightening, it hadn't actually made her feel any better. She needs to get away, somewhere where nobody will find her, so she sneaks herself upstairs into the Archbishop's room. Nobody in the entire monastery is dumb enough to come up here, except her of course.  
  
Well, her and the professor apparently. She swears he has some kind of telepathy powers, something that lets him zoom in on their locations like dots on a map. He walks over to her, expressionless as ever, and pulls out a tube of lipstick she had lost before.  
  
"Is this yours?" he asks.  
  
She stared up at him, dumbfounded. He pushes the lipstick tube towards her and she accepts without a word. The professor stares down at her.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asks.  
  
Suddenly her voice has come back to her.  
  
"Yeah teach," she assures him, "I'm all good, don't worry."  
  
The teacher nods.  
  
"Will you have tea with me then?"  
  
Sylvia cringes, hating the times when she has to turn him down.  
  
"Ahh, I'm not sure if I'm really up for it today—"  
  
The teacher places his hand delicately on her shoulder, expression changing just by the barest bit.  
  
"Please?"  
  
And how could she say no to that? Everyone's got a bit of a soft spot for the professor, after all. She stands up from her spot on the ground and he leads her away, down to a small table outside. It's filled to the brim with sweets, but none of them interest her very much right now. He offers her a cup of bergamot tea, and she takes it in her hands.  
  
"Have you read any interesting books lately?" he asks.  
  
It's a different opener than usual. Usually he'd go for something about cute boys in the monastery, or what her friends are up to. Usually he'd ask about Felicity. She sighs. Someone must have told him too. He's trying to be considerate.  
  
"Not particularly," she says, sipping her tea slowly.  
  
"Ahhh," he replies.  
  
Professor Byleth looks as unaffected as ever, but she can tell that he's concerned. He wouldn't have asked her out today if he weren't.  
  
"You want to know what happened between me and Felicity, right?"  
  
The professor has the decency to look just a little bit shocked before nodding his head.  
  
"If you're willing to talk about it," he says monotonously, "I want to know what's troubling my precious student."  
  
Sylvia goes into full on story-telling mode, and the professor nods along as she rambles. He's an attentive listener, and by the end of the story, she almost feels lighter. She still feels like shit, but it's nice to get all this stuff off her chest.  
  
When she finally finishes her run-down of what happened, Professor Byleth sets down his cup of tea with a clink, rising from his chair.  
  
"I understand," he says, "And I'll deal with this, don't worry."  
  
Sylvia frowns, wanting to ask him what he means by that, but before she can he's already dashing halfway across the monastery, leaving trails of dust in his wake. She sighs, deciding she should go somewhere with less commotion.  
  
\----  
  
She ends up in the greenhouse this time, quietly watching as Dedue tends to his flowers. She'd learned today, that hiding from the Blue Lions was impossible. At least Dedue wasn't likely to force her into conversation.  
  
They sit in companiable silence. She's slumped herself over on one of the stone ledges, while he weeds his garden beside her. She tries to clear all thoughts from her head, watching as a fuzzy black caterpillar walks along the leaf of a tulip. It doesn't really work. She still feels sad.  
  
A loud cough comes from beside her. Dedue stands tall, lovingly holding a single yellow rose. She looks up at him in confusion and he gently moves the flower towards her.  
  
"Yellow roses symbolize happiness," he says simply, lifting the corners of his mouth in what she assumes is an attempt at a smile.  
  
_Oh_, she thinks. She takes the flower from his hand with grace.  
  
"Thank you, Dedue," she says softly, "I could always use more of that."  
  
He nods in understanding adding, "They also represent friendship... You should know that everybody in the Blue Lions house holds you in great esteem."  
  
Sylvia looks down at the flower, rolling the stem between her two fingers.  
  
"Not—"  
  
"Especially Felicity," he says, leaving no room for argument.  
  
She opens her mouth to say something, when a familiar person comes barelling through the doors.  
  
"Sylvia! I just talked to the professor," Felicity shouts.  
  
Sylvia winces, as Felicity walks over, crosses her arms over her chest, and clenches her jaw. What did the professor even tell her?  
  
"Why are you going around telling everyone I broke your heart?"  
  
Ahhh, just that. Sylvia pouts.  
  
"I only told Ashe... He's the one who told everyone else."  
  
"You shouldn't be telling anyone!"  
  
"Why not? It's tru—"  
  
"No, it's not!" she screams, and it's in such a shrill, intense voice that she's surprised it didn't shake the room.  
  
Sylvia stares at her, shocked. Felicity is shaking across from her, and she's not sure whether she's about to cry or explode. It turns out to be the former, when she suddenly breaks down, crying into her hands.  
  
"Felicity..." she says with concern, taking careful steps towards her, "Why don't you believe me?"  
  
"Because you're not," she sobs.  
  
"I keep telling you, I am."  
  
"Yeah, and you're lying."  
  
Sylvia takes another step closer.  
  
"I'm not."  
  
Felicity uncovers her face, dripping with snot and tears. She pokes angrily at Sylvia's chest.  
  
"You are though! It's what you do! You tell people that you love them— that you'll only ever love them, and then you toss them aside like trash once you get what you want, and I can't—"  
  
Her cries grow louder, balling her hands up at her hips.  
  
"I can't believe you would pull that shit with me," she says unevenly, lowering her voice down to a whipser, "I thought I meant more to you than that."  
  
Sylvia stares at her wordlessly. She takes one step closer to pull Felicity into a crushing hug. Felicity hesitates before returning it, sobbing directly into Sylvia's chest.  
  
"Felicity, I would never do that to you," she says, voice shaking with anger— mostly at herself. She knows she's not the most trustworthy person when it comes to love, but she never thought—  
  
Felicity hugs her tighter.  
  
"How am I supposed to believe that?"  
  
Sylvia sighs.  
  
"Felicity, the men I've been with... They didn't matter to me. You do."  
  
Felicity pulls away from her, frown set deeply on her face. Sylvia continues.  
  
"I never grew up with those men. We never fought in battles together, we never spent nights awake talking, I never let them stay with me when they had nightmares, and I sure as hell never promised any of them that we would die together... You're special to me, Felicity."  
  
She bites her lip, considering.  
  
"If you're lying to me, I'll kill you."  
  
"I'm not."  
  
They stare at each other in silence, slowly coming to an understanding. A gruff cough interrupts them.  
  
"Not to ruin your moment," Dedue says awkwardly, "But perhaps you would've preferred if this conversation happened in private?"  
  
The two girls stare back at him blankly, clearly having forgotten he was there. They both turn red at the realization, and Felicity makes a split-second decision to run away, dragging Sylvia with her by the wrist.  
  
\----  
  
She drags them back to Sylvia's room, closing the door shut behind them quietly. Sylvia takes a seat on her bed, but Felicity stays at the door, staring down at her feet.  
  
"I want to hear your confession again," she says.  
  
Sylvia blinks up at her.  
  
"Why?"  
  
Felicity plays with the edge oh her skirt, absentmindedly.  
  
"I didn't believe you before so I couldn't give you a proper response."  
  
Sylvia swallows. She's really not looking forward to being rejected again, but Felicity looks desperate. _Maybe she still doesn't believe me still_. She takes a deep breath, heart picking up pace.  
  
"Felicity, I'm in love with you. I didn't realize until just recently, but for as long as I can remember I pictured us spending our lives together..." Sylvia trails off, looking over to gauge Felicity's reaction, "I thought it would be as best-friends, but lately I've found myself wanting something more."  
  
Felicity swallows, taking it all in.  
  
"I'm in love with you too."  
  
Her heart skips a beat.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Felicity raises her head up to look directly at her. Her face is flushed red but her eyes are determined.  
  
"I'm in love with you too," she repeats, "I have been since we were children."  
  
Sylvia's eyes widen, a huge grin appearing on her face. Felicity continues.  
  
"That's why if you're lying to me, I'll never speak to you again."  
  
Sylvia can't help it when she starts laughing, overcome with relief. Felicity scowls at her.  
  
"That's the best new I've ever heard," she says genuinely, "This is the best day of my life, I'm over the moon with joy."  
  
Felicity groans.  
  
"Ugh, would you stop it with that flowery nonsense?"  
  
"Nuh-uh, you love it. You love me!"  
  
Felicity just about turns to leave, when Sylvia jumps up and runs over to block the door.  
  
"Hey, don't leave yet. I didn't even get to ask you to be my girlfriend."  
  
Felicity rolls her eyes, small smile on her face.  
  
"You want to be my girlfriend?"  
  
Sylvia nods eagerly.  
  
"And what's in it for me?" she teases.  
  
"Endless love and happiness?"  
  
"Hmmm, I don't know..."  
  
"Well, I could give you free massages whenever you want," she tries again.  
  
"You already do that, though."  
  
Sylvia smirks.  
  
"Yeah, but if we were together I could make them a bit more... Intimate," she jokes, easily slipping into her smoother persona. She misses the way Felicity's eyes widen at the suggestion, "Just kiddi—"  
  
"What about right now?" she asks.  
  
Sylvia can't believe it.  
  
"I— Seriously?"  
  
Felicity looks away from her, blushing.  
  
"I told you, I've liked you since we were children. Of course I'd want to do that."  
  
"Oh," she whispers, "Okay, yeah."  
  
Sylvia takes a step forwards, and Felicity shuts her eyes tight in anticipation. She leans over and kisses her roughly. Their lips mold together nicely, and without looking, Sylvia reaches up to undo the bun at the top of her head. She rolls her hairtie over her wrist, and threads her fingers through the dark locks. Felicity moans against her lips, and grips her hands tightly around her waist. Sylvia walks them both backwards until they fall over onto the bed, Felicity on top.  
  
Sylvia begins trailing her hands down Felicity's body, moving from her hair to her waist, and then back up again to rest firmly on her breasts. She glides her thumbs back and forth over the hardening nipples, causing Felicity to gasp softly. Sylvia swallows up the noise, continuing to kiss her with an unmatched fervour. They break apart just long enough for Sylvia to look up at Felicity in awe.  
  
Above her, Felicity's eyes are glazed over— her lips red and puffy from the kiss. She's so fucking beautiful, she thinks briefly, before slotting their mouths back together again. She begins to kiss down her neck, sucking little love bites into her skin. Felicity leans into it, using her free hands to start undoing Sylvia's shirt.  
  
"Take this off," she whines, motioning to the bra Sylvia has on.  
  
Sylvia leans up, using one hand to hold Felicity up so she doesn't fall of the bed, and using the other to shrug her shirt off entirely. When she's confident they're both steady she reaches behind frantically to undo the clasp to her bra. She throws them both to the ground, and then falls back, pulling Felicity back on top of her.  
  
Felicity looks down at her smirking.  
  
"I guess I didn't need to buy you dinner after all," she says, reaching over to twist at one of the exposed nubs. Sylvia gasps under her and Felicity swoops down to take one in her mouth. She sucks gently at the flesh, twirling her tongue around it. She uses her other hand to fondle the neglected boob, pulling gently at the nipple.  
  
It's a nice sensation, not one she's ever found particularly arousing, but it feels good and it's obviously turning on Felicity. More than that, it's just a really nice sight. Having Felicity between her legs, licking eagerly at her nipples, is making her hornier than anything else.  
  
She squirms underneath her, desperate for more contact. Felicity gets the hint right away, sliding the one hand down from her boob, over her stomach and under her waistband.   
  
Felicity rubs her over her panties, and Sylvia shuts her eyes tight, bucking her hips up at the sensation. She's so wet it's soaked through her panties, leaving a damp spot where Felicity's touching her. Somehow, Felicity is the one who looks overwhelmed.  
  
"I really do turn you on," she whispers disbelievingly.  
  
Sylvia moans.  
  
"Are you surprised?" she whispers back.  
  
Felicity bites her lip above her.  
  
"Well you've only ever been with men, so..."  
  
Sylvia can sense her insecurities creeping up, so she says the first thing that comes to mind.  
  
"I've been having wet dreams about you for months," she admits, "Ever since you let me massage you that second time."  
  
Felicity swallows, moving her hands faster. Sylvia arches her back up when she does, moaning again.  
  
"Hey, let me touch you too," she begs.  
  
Felicity nods, grabbing one of Sylvia's hands and bringing it up to her crotch.  
  
Sylvia blushes as she slips her hand into Felicity's panties. She starts rubbing her pussy experimentally, never having done this for another girl. Her hand glides easily between her lips, and Felicity grinds down into the sensation. She leans her head down until she's panting against Sylvia's neck. They continue grinding against eachother's hands, and Sylvia can feel herself getting closer every second. There's a hot pressure building up in her stomach and if Felicity keeps touching her like this she'll—  
  
As if she could read her mind, Felicity pulls back her hand. Sylvia whines at the loss of contact and Felicity smirks despite herself. She tugs gently at Sylvia's tights.  
  
"Lift your hips up," she commands, and Sylvia readily complies.  
  
Felicity tears down her tights and underwear in one motion, throwing them sloppily in a pile with the rest of their clothes. Felicity looks down at Sylvia with a hungry look in her eyes, and Sylvia's legs fall open just a little bit wider on instinct.  
  
Felicity leans down to place a kiss on Sylvia's left calf. She continues, placing kisses up her calf, on her knees, and then up her inner thigh, ending finally at the junction where her thigh meets her crotch. She looks up at Sylvia and licks her lips.  
  
Sylvia's pussy twitches at the sight, aching for some contact. Felicity is quick to provide it. She starts by licking slow stripes up Sylvia's slit, earning her plenty of whiny little moans. She continues, swirling her tongue around the area, over and over again, but never actually making contact with the place Sylvia wants her to. She rests her hands on Felicity's head, grabbing fistfuls of hair between her fingers.  
  
"Quit teasing me," she begs.  
  
Felicity moves to place another kiss right next to her throbbing clit, staring up at Sylvia with devilish eyes.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
Sylvia groans.  
  
"Felicity, please, I-"  
  
Felicity moves her tongue over top of her clit, giving it teasing kitten licks. Sylvia shivers.  
  
"Is this what you want?"  
  
Sylvia nods eagerly.  
  
"Yes, yes, yes," she repeats like a mantra.  
  
Felicity starts licking her with firmer, circular strokes, watching as Sylvia comes undone underneath her. Moans fill the room. Suddenly her whole body tenses and she's letting out a high-pitched cry. Her orgasm ripples through her body in shock waves.  
  
Felicity leans back, positioning her fingers over her hole, and gently slips them inside. She curls them up inside of her, thrusting them in and out while Sylvia rides out the end of her orgasm. Each hit sending a wave of pleasure through her body. She pulls out after a few seconds later so that Sylvia doesn't feel overstimulated.  
  
"Do you want me to do that to you?" she asks, voice breathless.  
  
Felicity nods, quickly rolling her panties down before crawling over top of Sylvia and lifting her skirt up. She positions herself so that her pussy is within inches of Sylvia's face.  
  
"Lick me," she says in a commanding voice.  
  
"Bossy," Sylvia laughs, but she obliges.  
  
Sylvia moves her hands up to rest on Sylvia's ass, pulling her closer to her face. She lets her tongue hang out, moving her head around to lick thick stripes up Felicity's slit. Felicity leans her head back and moans. She wiggles her hips around so that her clit keeps meeting Sylvia's tongue. Sylvia pulls her in even closer, cupping Felicity's ass in her hands. She continues doing this until Felicity looks like she's getting close, and then she suction cups her mouth around Felicity's clit, sucking hard. Felicity moans loudly, threading her fingers through Sylvia's hair to keep her in place. It hits her all at once, and her whole body twitches when she comes. Sylvia detches herself from her clit with a pop.  
  
"You're so hot," says Sylvia in astonishment.  
  
Felicity drops down to lay next to her.  
  
"You're not so bad yourself," she pants.  
  
Sylvia looks over at her, a strange glint in her eye. It fills Felicity with dread.  
  
"Wanna go again?" she asks.  
  
Felicity rolls her eyes, picking up one of the pillows of Felicity's bed and wacking her with it.  
  
"Tch, insatiable."  
  
Sylvia grins, reaching over to play with her hair.  
  
"You love it though."  
  
"Yeah... I do."  
  
\----  
  
The next morning, Sylvia wakes up to a note on her door. She tears it down to inspect it. It reads:  
  
"Dear Felicity and Sylvia, I'm glad the two of you made up, but for the absolute last time, recognize that these walls are thin. Thank you. Signed, Dimitri"  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! :)


End file.
